


Ten Minutes Left

by wildflower_murals (orphan_account)



Category: Parks and Recreation
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/F, movies - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-23
Updated: 2016-06-14
Packaged: 2018-06-04 00:03:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6632485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/wildflower_murals
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leslie Knope and Ben Wyatt have both been cast to be each other's love interests in a movie, but here's the problem: They hate each other.</p><p>Ben and Leslie Actors AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This will get longer, I promise. This first chapter is a little on the short side, but as the story progresses, it will get for interesting and thus chapters will get longer. Thanks for reading!

It had been a pretty slow day for Leslie Knope. Or maybe that was just because she was waiting to hear if she got a part in a fabulous new movie. She didn't like to be kept waiting.

Leslie was an aspiring actress, known to getting parts such as "Mall Customer #11" and "Person Walking in A Park". But Leslie assured herself that one day, she'd get her big break. That was why she took a part time job in New York, after all. Yes, it had been hard to leave her hometown, Pawnee, Indiana, but this was just for a little while.

She'd been to hundreds of auditions, only to get turned down. She'd even tried to audition for SNL, but they turned her down, saying she was too short. What? Was that even a thing? Leslie never thought it mattered. She wanted to keep going.

And that was why she was now puttering around her small apartment, looking out of the keyhole to see if the mailman had come yet. She was also stress eating sugar, but that didn't matter. She was just nervous. Couldn't the mailman understand that if he just showed up, Leslie could get her dream job? Or she couldn't. But Leslie didn't want to think about that. No sir. She would stay positive, no matter what.

She was repeating that to herself for the 45th time just as the mail slipped onto her apartment floor. Leslie stopped. She quickly picked up the pile of papers and started going through it, ignoring all her bills and checks, just trying to get to the important stuff. As she neared the bottom of the pile, a bright red envelope caught her eye. She'd seen that envelope hundreds of times, but it was usually just telling her that she had not been accepted for that role and to "keep on following her dreams" and all that motivational crap they put in to make people feel better.

Leslie ripped it open. On that fancy, gold leaf, there was a message. "Congratulations!" It said. "You have been accepted the role of Mary Drews in the new movie 'This Tiny Park'. Please call the number below for more information."

Leslie felt like screaming. She wanted to be in this movie, mostly because it involved her favorite things, romance and parks. She quickly called her agent, Ann.

"Ann!"

"Yes, Leslie, I know you want more audition opportunities-"

"No, Ann, I got the part!"

"What?!"

"The part! Mary Drews in 'This Small Park'!"

"Leslie, do you know how important that is?"

"Yes! I love parks!"

"No, Leslie, do you know how important the movie is? Leonardo De Caprio tried out for this movie just so he could win an Oscar!"

"Oh, well, ok. I have to hang up now, Ann. They want me to call a number right away."

"Yes, I know, Leslie. Goodbye! Good luck!"

"Bye!"

Leslie grabbed her phone and called the number.

"Hi, I got the part of Mary Drews in 'This Small Park,' and they wanted me to call this number. I'm Leslie Knope."

"Ah, yes, Leslie." The very Italian voice answered. "Come to stage 2b tomorrow morning at 4am. I'll give you the address."

"Ok, thank you Mr--?" She questioned, but the man had already hung up.

________________ 

Stay tuned for the next chapter from Ben's POV, and to find out who the mystery man is!


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben gets his letter of acceptance, and the crew starts the table read.

Ben Wyatt had been in the movie industry for a pretty long time, so when a letter came saying he got a part, he usually didn't care. 

He'd been in countless movies, the roles all different. He would do anything from action to horror to crime, but there were two roles he couldn't stand, mostly because of life experiences. He promised himself he would never be in a cliché teen movie, since teenagers always do stupid stuff, and if anybody had to know that firsthand, it was Ben Wyatt. 

When he was 18 and still in high school, he tried out for a movie called 'Ice Town,' a story of a kid who lived in the mountains and wanted to build a whole city there, until the mountains collapsed and so did the kid's dreams. It was the worst role Ben had ever taken, and it almost ruined his career.

Ben never took roles involving romance or marriage. It just wasn't something he enjoyed doing. First off, Ben never really liked that stuff, it was just too cheesy for him. And secondly, his actual relationships were never too good after 'Ice Town.' He'd have affairs and date terrible women who were just using him to get money. For the longest time, he was known only for his relationships with pretty scandalous women who just made his career worse. And since that had happened, he'd fallen into some sort of depression.

Maybe it was because he wasn't getting good roles. That's what Ben thought it was. He took every role he was offered, but none of them seemed to fit him. Recently, he'd even tried out for some stupid romance movie about a park. Jesus, he didn't even like parks. Or romance. That was something Ben told himself never to try out for, but he did anyway. He was so desperate for a role he was breaking his own rules.

So he called his agent, Chris.

"Ben Wyatt!"

"Uh, hey Chris. Look-"

"This is perfect! I was LITERALLY just about to call you!"

"Really. Wow, how amazing is that." Ben deadpanned.

"Super amazing!" Chris said. "And what's more amazing is the role you got!"

"What role?"

"'This Tiny Park!' You got the role of Matt Davis!"

"Oh, Chris, I didn't-"

"Go call Damian Rissotti! He's waiting for you!"

Ben really didn't want this role. He tried telling Damian, the director of the movie, but he just wouldn't listen.

"You audition for role, you want role. End of story. We start the table read tomorrow, stage 2b, 4am. Be there."

Ben sighed. "Fine."

_________________________________

"Ok, let's get to know our cast."

Damian wanted them get along with one another, so it would "eliminate any stress or tension on set."

Ben just wants to go home.

"Ohhh, can I go?" A small, energetic, blond raises her hand and Damian nods that she can go.

"Ok, my name is Leslie Knope and this is my first major role. I wanted to be in this movie because I love parks!"

Ben snorts a little at that. This is exactly why he doesn't do romance movies.

"What, did you think that was funny?" Leslie Knope is walking over to him now, fists clenched. "If you wanted something funny, you could have auditioned for Saturday Night Live. I used to be the Deputy Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, so of course I love parks."

Ben raises his eyebrows. "Deputy Director, huh? Is there an Assistant Director where you live too?"

Leslie squints her eyes and growls. Actually growls. Seriously, what is wrong with this lady?

"Look, what's your name?"

"Ben Wyatt." He answers with a super smug grin that causes Leslie to punch him in the arm. "Ow." He says, totally unharmed.

"You're Ben Wyatt?" she says softly, totally unaware that the entire crew is watching them.

"I am."

"You look uglier without that makeup."

He sighs. "Thank you."

"And good job hooking up with all those women." Leslie says, and storms out.

Damion pauses for a moment, then says, "Who wants to go next?"

Ben rolls his eyes.

_________________________________

"Do I know you?" Leslie says later, after the table read, which went terribly. They fought a lot more verbally this time, leaving Damian speechless after Leslie's insults reached the R-rated level.

"Um, I'm a actor."

"I know that." Leslie said, rolling her eyes. "But it kind of feels like I've seen you before."

Ben raises his eyebrows.

"Wait." Leslie's eyes widen and Ben definitely knows what's coming next. He's been dealing with this for 20 years.

"You're Benji Wyatt?"

"I am."

"Well, he's a real pain in the ass now, I hope you know that."

"Really."

"Don't sass me, Ice Clown."

Ben freezes. "What?"

"You heard me."

"Look, Leslie, that's not the only thing I'm known for."

"Well, what are you known for?"

"Being an actor who's been nominated for 3 Oscars."

"The way the press talks about you makes it seem like you're known for being a total douche."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm serious. I think you'd be a better person if you had a family."

"What are you, a therapist? Jesus."

"No."

"Then why are you talking about having a family? Do you have one?"

"No."

"Well, Knope, you shouldn't be talking about something you don't have."

Leslie paused, then in a annoying tone that sounded a lot like Ben's, said, "What are you, a therapist? Jesus."

"Don't mock me. I don't like that."

"I don't care if you like it."

"Fine. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Ice Clown."

As Ben walked to his car, he thought this might have been the worst decision of his life.

Leslie thought so too.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben tells Leslie a little more about 'Ice Town." The crew deals with problems.

"Tell me about 'Ice Town.'"

The crew finished up another day of the table read, and celebrated by going out. Ben really didn't want to go, but it wasn't like he had a choice. 

He's sitting across from Leslie, who's pestering him about his career. She been asking him different questions all day, and Ben was getting annoyed, but he figured he'd answer them for her. She's not so mean when she's asking questions, he thought.

"Do you really want to know?"

She slaps his arm. "Yes Ben! I do!"

Ben smiles. "Oh, I don't think I should tell you."

"Ben! Please."

He shrugs. "Ok, but let me warn you that what you are about to hear is worse than any government secret."

Her face fills with concern. "What?"

"Just kidding." He laughs as Leslie slaps his arm again, a little bit harder. Maybe it's just because of the alcohol, but they seem to actually be getting along. Ben likes it.

"Ok, ok!" Ben puts his hands up in surrender as Leslie hits him. "I'll tell you my secrets."

"Great. Spill, Ice Clown."

"Don't call me that. I don't-"

"Yes, I know you don't like it. But guess what? I don't care if you like it or not, Ben. That's what you do when you tease. And I," She pokes his arm, "Am teasing you. So spill."

"Ok. But are you-"

"Ben, if you ask me one more time if I'm sure, I will murder you."

"Wow. Back to fighting, aren't we, Knope. Maybe I really shouldn't tell you."

Her mouth opens in protest, but Ben silences her. "No, I wouldn't do that. Ok, let's start from the beginning."

An hour later, Ben's told her everything about 'Ice Town.' She's doubled over in laughter as he explains what happened when he came back to Partridge, his hometown. 

"They threw fruit at you?!"

"Yes, and that was only the first day. You wouldn't believe what they tried to do on the second."

"What?"

"Oh, they tried to burn me at the stake."

"What?!! Oh my god."

"Just kidding."

"Ben! Seriously."

"No, actually, they only threw vegetables. You'd be surprised at how much tomatoes hurt when they're being thrown at you from a zamboni."

Leslie looks confused. "A what?"

"A zamboni. You know, that machine you use to wet down the ice at hockey games?"

"What?"

"Were you isolated or something, Knope?"

"I wasn't isolated, Mr Wyatt, I lived in a small town!"

"Oh, so that small town didn't have any winter sports?"

Of course Pawnee had winter sports. Leslie should know. She'd played girls field hockey, which is a very competitive sport. Those girls where tough.

"Look, Ben, I don't appreciate you're callous attitude."

"Really."

"Yes, really. You may think you hold my fate in your hands, like a small bird, but I still think you're an ass."

Ben took a sip of his beer. "Great."

"Goodbye, Ice Clown."

Leslie was still calling him that? Seriously?

Ben watched her as she stormed out the restaurant door, muttering something about "stupid teenagers" and "mean movie stars."

Oh well.

He's sitting alone, swirling the remaining contents of his beer, when Damian comes up to him.

"Hey."

"Ben, this is my last day."

It takes a second for the words to register.

"What?"

"This party - it's not for the table read, it's for me. I'm leaving."

"Why? I thought we were going to finish up the table read and start filming and - "

Ben's freaking out. And there's no one here to calm him down.

"This isn't what I want to do, I guess. But soon there's going to be a new director and more cast mates, so there's nothing to worry about."

That's good. At least Damian knows what he wants to do with his life and doesn't think he's a total failure, like Ben does...

Damian's voice interrupts his thoughts.

"Where's Leslie?"

"Oh, she - she left."

Yeah, after a stupid fight about a zamboni. Damn it.

"Ah."


	4. Chapter 4

Leslie woke up with a splitting headache and a million thoughts racing through her head. She didn't remember anything, which might be a problem, but at this point Leslie didn't care. She rolled over and looked at the clock on her nightstand. 9:30am. "Oh god, I'm late."

"It's okay."

Ben Wyatt is standing in her bedroom. Was he watching her sleep? If so, for how long?

"What the hell?" Leslie screeches, falling out of bed with a  _thunk_ _._ Ow. "What are you doing here?" She tries to get up, but everything is blurry and her head hurts and it really doesn't help that Leslie's extremely hungover.

"Uh, I brought you home?" He says the last part like a question, like he's embarrassed. Leslie wonders why. She wasn't drunk, was she?

"You did?"

Ben pushes his hair out of his eyes and sighs. "You don't remember anything, do you?"

"Well, I guess not."

Ben whistles. "I've got a lot to tell you."

"I'm not listening to you, Ice Clown."

Ben smiles and disappears into the hallway leading to her kitchen. Leslie pulls herself from the hard wood floor and yells "I thought you didn't like it when I called you that!" She can hear him laugh as he retorts "Nah, I think it's kind of cute."

What did she miss?

Leslie's pulling on a University of Indiana sweatshirt as she walks into the kitchen. "What did I do last night, Benjamin?"

Ben scrunched up his nose and let out a breath. "You want to know right now?"

"Yes," Leslie huffs, annoyed, and takes a seat at the kitchen counter.

"Ok, so you passed out on the sidewalk."

" _Oh._ " 

"Yeah, and then I brought you home."

Leslie sighs. "Is that all?"

"Unfortunately, no. You did other things I probably, uh, shouldn't bring up."

She groaned. "It was that bad?"

"Uh huh," Ben set a cup of coffee (black,  _ew_ ) in front of her and continues. "When I unlocked your apartment, you started singing Whoomp There it Is, and proceeded to puke all over the floor."

"What a great bonding experience," Leslie deadpanned, making Ben laugh. It's the first time she's seen him smile, at least when he was sober anyway, and she likes it. He's kind of cute.

"Well, Leslie Knope, it looks like we're friends," Ben said.

"Yeah, we are." Leslie hopes that isn't sarcasm in Ben's voice, but she actually is happy that's she's friends with Ben. It was kind of tiring yelling at him all the time.

"What's on your shirt?" Leslie says, and Ben looks down at his Han Shot First t-shirt. 

"Uh, Star Wars."

"Never heard of it."

Ben shook his head, like he can't believe what he's hearing. "You've never seen Star Wars?"

"No."

"Come on, Knope."

They spend the rest of their 'sick' day on Leslie's couch, watching the whole trilogy, not the prequels, because according to Ben, they suck. Leslie cries when Han gets taken away, but is happy when Ben says he'll be back in the next movie. They get popcorn and Ben shows her some pictures of the vintage Millennium Falcon model he owns, Leslie's actually pretty interested. And when Leslie falls asleep on Ben's shoulder, it's not a big deal.

Because they're, you know,  _friends._


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay with this chapter!

"Why were you so awkward yesterday, Ice Clown?!" Leslie says as she busts into Ben's trailer. He's sitting on his couch, reading Game of Thrones.

"Uhh-" Ben starts but Leslie interrupts him again. 

"Is this because you wouldn't tell me what happened after I left the bar?"

Ben stood up and set down his book. "I told you. You passed out drunk and I took you home, then you puked all over your floor."

Leslie sighs, knowing this isn't going to go anywhere unless she take a risk. So she stands right up to Ben Wyatt, locking eyes with him. She keeps walking toward Ben until he starts to back up against the wall, and then Leslie makes her move. Ignoring Ben's "What are you doing?" Leslie squints at him, her eyes beady and black. "You said there was more,  _Benji_."

She says it in such a way that there's no denying that Ben Wyatt gasps, just quietly enough that Leslie can barely hear it. Their eyes stay locked for far too long, and Leslie can feel her cheeks turning pink, but she doesn't care. 

"Wh-Why did you do that?" Ben says finally, swallowing as Leslie backs away.

"I wanted to get even." She says flatly, arms crossed.

It seemed like Ben turned the tables because he suddenly gained a burst of confidence and laughs. "You wanted to get even?" Ben says, his lips turned upward in a satisfying smirk. It's attractive, there's no doubt about it, and Leslie doesn't know what to do as her cheeks turn an even deep shade of pink.

"Well, y-yes."

"Ok, Knope, I'm going to make you a deal." He says, running a hand through his disheveled hair. He needs a comb, Leslie thought.

"Great." Leslie says. "Tell me whatever."

Ben leans in close, so close that Leslie can feel his breath on her ear. "If you get calzones with me, I'll show you what you did after I picked you up."

Now it's Leslie turn to gasp, first at the seriousness of his voice, but then she laughs. "You want to get  _calzones_ with me? Oh god, for an A-list movie star like you, that's pretty low, don't you think?"

Ben shrugged. "Maybe. But there's one more thing."

"What?"

Ben grins. "Since you always call me Ice Clown, I've come up with a name for you."

"Really?" Leslie says.

"Yep. It's what friends do, you know?"

Something about the way he says "friends" makes Leslie's heart flutter. 

"Ok, spill." Said Leslie, thinking that whatever he came up with was going to be pretty bad.

"I've decided that your nickname will be," Ben does a drumroll with his hands, "Are you ready?"

"Sure," Leslie said, as she rolled her eyes.

"Leslie Knope, your new nickname will beeee.... babydoll."

"No!" Leslie says, feigning surprise.

"Yes, I'm afraid." Ben says folding his hands like he was delivering some bad news. "As a A-list star, one of the high things for me is finding amazingly good nicknames for cute women." He shrugs. "It's a talent of mine. And if you say no to this, what you want most right now will never come true."

Did he just call her  _cute_? Oh god.

"Um, it's probably not what I want most."

"Really? Just wait until I show you. I'm not giving out any details, but let's just say drunk Leslie Knope has a  _lot_ of tricks up her sleeve."

"Ugh." Leslie says, as she wrinkles her nose. "Go to hell." 

"Already there, babydoll." Ben smirks again, and, ok, why is that doing it for her all of a sudden?

"Aw, so cute." Leslie smiles, and they proceed to do their Star Wars themed handshake complete with imaginary blasters and  _pew pew pews._ It's something Leslie thought of during their Star Wars marathon.

"Ok, I'll see you tonight," Ben says as Leslie leaves. "Unless, you know, you don't want to find out what happened."

"I'll be there," Leslie said.

Ok, she was screwed. Leslie spent the rest of the day with the cast practicing the script, and she noticed Ben watching her from the corner of the room. He winked, and Leslie put on what she thought was an annoying face, but that just made Ben laugh.

"Hey everyone? May I have your attention please?" Damian shouted from the middle of the room. Automatically, everyone faced him. "I, ah, I have something to say. I'm sorry, but this is my last day here." The room gasped, and Leslie couldn't believe it. "Quiet, please," Damian said through the chaos. "I found a better job. There's going to be a new director soon, don't worry, and everything will be back to normal soon."

The crowd shuffled out of the room noisily, and Leslie found herself sandwiched between Ben and the wall. "Did you know that he was leaving?" Leslie hissed as they approached the exit. "Oh, I did." Ben said. "I found out the night we were at the bar." "What?! Why didn't you tell me?" Ben sighed. "Well, considering your state, I didn't think that was a good idea." Leslie huffed. "Fine."

Ben tugs her arm and drags Leslie to his car. It's a Saturn, not what you would expect from a star, but Leslie doesn't mind.

"Come on, babydoll." 

"Please stop calling me that."

"It's part of the bet. And besides, you wanted to know what happens, right?" Ben says as he starts the car.

"Well, yes."

The ride to wherever is mostly silent, apart from Ben turning on R.E.M. towards the end of the ride. At last they pull up to the bar. 

"I thought they didn't serve calzones here?"

"They do now, babydoll." Ben says, and flashes her a grin.

Leslie's not even the slightest bit annoyed by that. Is she going crazy?

Their dinner is nice, and although Leslie didn't order a calzone, she talks a little more about her family, and Ben does the same. It's actually not that bad.

They're outside again, and Leslie almost forgot what she came here for.

"What happened?"

Ben takes a deep breath. "Well, after you fell, you started talking about how I was 'cuter than Joe Biden', and then you called me a fascist hardass, which confused me quite a bit."

"Ok. What did I do next?"

"Well, you continued to make more comments like that, and then..."

Ben's staring at her now, and Leslie can't read his face. "What did I do next?"

He doesn't respond. "Ben, tell me, what did I do next?"

And Ben reaches over and presses his lips to hers, and suddenly Leslie remembers everything. The softness of the kiss soon grows more intense, and Leslie can feel her heart racing and her hands gripping him, one on his shirt and one in his hair. Ben pulls back and his hands are still holding her face, and Leslie just can't describe the look in his beautiful brown eyes as they search hers.

"I did that?"

Ben can only nod.

"Uh-oh."

"Uh-oh?"


End file.
